MissionSquare’s Andre Robinson Talks Challenges, Opportunities for 403(b) Plans

Andre Robinson

Almost a year into his role as president and CEO of MissionSquare Retirement, Andre Robinson is keenly aware of the issues impacting public sector workers’ ability to save for retirement.

Robinson succeeded Deanna Santana, who had served as acting CEO and president since 2023, in July of last year.

PLANSPONSOR spoke with Robinson after the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services voted 43 to 8 to advance to the full House of Representatives H.R. 1013, the Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025, a bill that would allow 403(b) plans to invest in collective investment trusts.

Robinson says it would be “colossal” if 403(b) plans are able to invest in CITs, as these lower-cost investment vehicles that have been available options for other defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s, for decades. He sees the passage of this bill as a “huge opportunity” on which MissionSquare would look to capitalize.

Robinson says offering a wide range of investment options for public service employees continues to be an area of focus.

“We want to make sure we have the lowest-possible cost investments that span really the investment spectrum, so that our participants and our customers can gain access to investment vehicles that [are] most desirable to them,” he says.

Hensrud Joins as Investment Strategy Head

MissionSquare announced Monday its appointment of Shari Hensrud as the new head of investment strategies, effective May 29. As an adviser to Doug Coté, MissionSquare’s chief investment officer, on matters related to the investment platform’s performance, Hensrud will oversee the MissionSquare investment strategy and equities team.

In the newly created role, Hensrud will drive investment product development and the product enhancement road map, which includes expanding the firm’s investment capabilities and alternative investment strategies, to include asset classes such as private equity, according to the announcement.

“We’ve been making a bunch of strategic investments behind the scenes to install the appropriate infrastructure from which to deliver on the services and the capabilities that our consumer base is expecting,” Robinson says. “That includes technology, that includes service, and it certainly includes a bunch of talent that we’ve been able to hire over the last four to five months.”

Future Role of AI

On the topic of artificial intelligence and technology, Robinson says MissionSquare has not yet implemented it for financial planning services, but AI has helped the firm improve its service quality.

“I think where it gets a little bit tricky with AI, for purposes of planning and maybe even investments, is … the firm has to own the decision,” Robinson says. “I think it’s still a bit premature to leverage AI for purposes of [planning and picking investments].”

But from an individual perspective, Robinson says AI can be helpful in terms of education and understanding what types of annuities may be best for an individual or what a good financial plan entails.

“As I think about the future of AI from an individual’s perspective, I think there’s certainly going to be some exciting and educational components to it, but there’s always going to be that professional guidance that’s needed to really help people understand the ‘why’ behind the output that AI is putting in front of them,” he explains.

What’s Next

Looking ahead, Robinson says MissionSquare is focused on rolling out emergency savings and high-yield savings tools for participants. He says participants often take advantage of the stable value fund that MissionSquare offers when there is market volatility, for example, and use it as a source from which to pull emergency funds.

Robinson also says MissionSquare is planning to roll out budgeting and planning tools, as well as additional capabilities to help enhance financial literacy.

“We noticed that people are very quick to go to their retirement plan assets to get money out in the event of an emergency,” Robinson says. “If we can coach them on how to have a high-yield savings vehicle that will serve as a proxy for an emergency vehicle, that would help us to better insulate the retirement business and protect them from … debiting their retirement portfolio today that they’re going to rely on 10, 15 [or] 20 years from 1749454331.”

While MissionSquare has approximately 30 financial planners available to all participants, Robinson says workers are also looking for self-service tools that can help them model different investment or retirement scenarios.

He says the firm is also planning to roll out brokerage capabilities, which would allow people to transact in securities they deem appropriate. While this is not a benefit the firm has historically offered, Robinsons says MissionSquare has received significant feedback from participants and consultants indicating that brokerage tools are something participants would utilize.